220-1201 Practice Test 35 — 15 Questions

Question 1

A user reports that when they scan a document using the flatbed scanner on their multifunction printer, the resulting image has a blue tint. The same user says printing works fine. What is the most likely cause?

Choose an answer to begin — your selection is scored in the full session.

Accepted Answer

The scanner lamp is failing. This question tests troubleshooting of scanner-specific issues. A blue tint indicates a problem with the scanner's color calibration or sensor, not the printer's output. The print quality is fine, so the issue is isolated to the scanning subsystem.

Answer

The toner cartridge is low on cyan

Answer

The document is placed upside down

Answer

The printer driver is corrupted

Question 2

A user's laptop intermittently loses connection to the wireless network. The technician suspects channel congestion from nearby access points. Which tool should be used to identify the least congested Wi-Fi channel?

Accepted Answer

Wi-Fi analyzer. A Wi-Fi analyzer (option C) is the correct tool because it scans the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands, displaying channel utilization, signal strength, and overlapping access points. This allows the technician to identify the least congested channel by visualizing real-time interference and channel overlap, which is essential for resolving intermittent wireless disconnections caused by channel congestion.

Answer

Ping

Answer

Tracert

Answer

Cable tester

Question 3

A technician is setting up a new Android tablet for a field sales representative. The tablet needs to connect to the internet via a cellular data plan. The technician inserts a nano-SIM card from the company's carrier, but the tablet shows 'No SIM card' in the status bar. The SIM card works in another tablet. What is the most likely cause?

Accepted Answer

The SIM card is not fully inserted or is inserted incorrectly.. The 'No SIM card' error with a SIM that works in another device almost always indicates a physical insertion problem — the nano-SIM is not seated correctly in the tray or is misaligned. Nano-SIMs are easy to insert upside down or at a slight angle, and the tray may not latch fully. Reseating the SIM correctly resolves the issue.

Answer

The tablet's cellular radio is disabled in the settings.

Answer

The SIM card is not compatible with the tablet's LTE bands.

Answer

The tablet requires a software update to enable cellular functionality.

Question 4

A user complains that their external USB hard drive is making a clicking sound and is no longer recognized by any computer. What is the most likely cause?

Accepted Answer

The drive has experienced a mechanical failure.. A clicking sound from a hard drive is the classic symptom of a mechanical failure — typically a stuck or failing read/write head, a damaged platter, or a failing spindle motor. Because the drive is also not recognized by any computer, the failure is at the hardware level, not the logical or cabling level. Mechanical failures require professional data recovery if the data is critical.

Answer

The USB cable is damaged.

Answer

The drive has suffered a logical failure.

Answer

The drive's enclosure is faulty.

Question 5

A technician is installing a new thermal printer for a retail point-of-sale system. After connecting the printer and installing the driver, the printer prints garbled characters and random symbols. What is the most likely cause?

Accepted Answer

The printer driver is incorrect for the model. Garbled or random characters from a thermal printer typically indicate a driver mismatch — the printer is receiving data it cannot interpret correctly, so it prints whatever byte stream it receives as random symbols. Installing the correct, model-specific driver (or using the generic ESC/POS driver if appropriate) resolves the encoding and command-set mismatch. This is distinct from physical issues like paper orientation or dirty printheads, which produce blank, faint, or streaked output rather than random characters.

Answer

The thermal paper is loaded upside down

Answer

The printhead is dirty

Answer

The printer is out of paper

Question 6

You are troubleshooting a network issue where a user cannot access a specific server. You need to verify the path that packets take from the user's computer to the server and identify where delays occur. Which command-line tool should you use?

Accepted Answer

tracert. The tracert (traceroute) command is specifically designed to map the path packets take from a source to a destination by sending ICMP Echo Requests with incrementing Time-To-Live (TTL) values. Each router along the path decrements the TTL and, when it reaches zero, sends back an ICMP Time Exceeded message, allowing tracert to display each hop and the round-trip time (RTT) for that hop. This makes it the correct tool for verifying the packet path and identifying where delays occur.

Answer

ping

Answer

ipconfig

Answer

nslookup

Question 7

A technician is troubleshooting a desktop that randomly restarts under heavy load. They suspect the RAM is overheating. What type of RAM cooling solution is most commonly integrated into high-performance memory modules?

Accepted Answer

Heat spreaders (metal fins) on the modules.. High-performance memory modules most commonly integrate metal heat spreaders — aluminum or copper fins bonded to the DIMM — to dissipate heat generated during heavy load. These spreaders increase surface area and conduct heat away from the DRAM chips, addressing the overheating that can cause random restarts. This is the standard, factory-integrated cooling solution on gaming and workstation RAM.

Answer

Liquid cooling loops attached to the RAM sticks.

Answer

Small fans mounted directly above the RAM slots.

Answer

Thermal pads that connect RAM to the motherboard heatsink.

Question 8

A user reports that after installing a new app on their Android phone, the device has become noticeably slower and the battery drains faster. What is the most likely cause?

Accepted Answer

The app is running background services that consume resources.. The most common cause of performance degradation and increased battery drain after installing a new app is that the app runs background services, such as sync adapters, location listeners, or push notification keep-alives. These services consume CPU cycles, memory, and network activity even when the app is not in the foreground, leading to slower device responsiveness and faster battery depletion.

Answer

The app is a known malware that steals personal data.

Answer

The phone's storage is full from the app installation.

Answer

The app requires a newer version of Android.

Question 9

A user connects a 4K monitor to their laptop using a USB-C port. The monitor is detected, but the resolution is stuck at 1920x1080. The laptop supports 4K output via USB-C. What is the most likely reason?

Accepted Answer

The USB-C cable does not support DisplayPort Alt Mode. The most likely reason is that the USB-C cable does not support DisplayPort Alt Mode. For a USB-C port to output a 4K video signal, the cable must be capable of carrying DisplayPort signals alongside USB data. If the cable is a standard USB 2.0 or 3.x cable without Alt Mode support, the system will fall back to a lower resolution like 1920×1080, even if the laptop and monitor both support 4K.

Answer

The monitor's HDMI port is defective

Answer

The laptop's graphics driver is outdated

Answer

The monitor's refresh rate is set too high

Question 10

A technician is replacing the toner cartridge in a laser printer. After installing the new cartridge, the printer displays an error message that the toner cartridge is not recognized. The technician has verified that the cartridge is compatible with the printer model. What is the most likely cause?

Accepted Answer

The cartridge's chip is not making contact with the printer.. Laser printer cartridges have a chip that communicates with the printer. If the chip is not making contact, the printer cannot recognize the cartridge. This is often due to a protective seal or tape left on the cartridge, or improper seating. A firmware issue is less likely if the cartridge is compatible.

Answer

The printer's firmware is outdated.

Answer

The toner is low in the new cartridge.

Answer

The printer needs to be reset to factory defaults.

Question 11

A small office uses a network printer that supports both IPP and LPD printing. The printer is configured to use the default port for IPP. Which port must be open on the firewall for printing to work?

Accepted Answer

631. IPP (Internet Printing Protocol) uses TCP port 631 by default, as defined in RFC 2911. Since the printer is configured to use the default port for IPP, the firewall must allow inbound traffic on port 631 for printing to function.

Answer

515

Answer

9100

Answer

80

Question 12

A user reports that their new high-resolution monitor (2560x1440) connected via DisplayPort shows intermittent black screens for a few seconds. The monitor works fine at lower resolutions. What is the most likely issue?

Accepted Answer

The DisplayPort cable is not certified for the required bandwidth. The most likely issue is that the DisplayPort cable is not certified for the required bandwidth. At 2560x1440 resolution, the monitor requires a high data rate (approximately 7.04 Gbps for 60 Hz), and a non-certified or low-quality cable may not reliably support this bandwidth, causing intermittent signal loss and black screens. Lower resolutions work because they require less bandwidth, allowing the cable to function within its limits.

Answer

The monitor's power saving mode is too aggressive

Answer

The graphics card is overheating

Answer

The monitor's firmware is outdated

Question 13

A user complains that their laptop's Wi-Fi connection drops frequently when a Bluetooth mouse is active. The laptop is a recent model with built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. What is the most likely cause?

Accepted Answer

Interference between Bluetooth and Wi-Fi on the 2.4 GHz band.. The most likely cause is interference between Bluetooth and Wi-Fi on the 2.4 GHz band. Both Bluetooth and Wi-Fi (802.11b/g/n) share the same 2.4 GHz ISM band, and Bluetooth uses adaptive frequency hopping (AFH) to avoid collisions, but when a Bluetooth device is active, it can still cause co-channel interference with Wi-Fi, leading to dropped connections. This is a well-known issue, especially with older or poorly shielded hardware.

Answer

The Bluetooth mouse is out of range.

Answer

The laptop's Wi-Fi driver is outdated.

Answer

The Bluetooth mouse uses a proprietary frequency.

Question 14

A company deploys a new web server and wants to ensure that data transmitted between clients and the server is encrypted. The technician configures the server to use a certificate. Which protocol should be enabled on the server?

Accepted Answer

HTTPS. HTTPS (Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure) encrypts data between clients and a web server using TLS/SSL. The certificate you configured on the server is used to establish a trusted, encrypted session, ensuring confidentiality and integrity of transmitted data.

Answer

HTTP

Answer

FTP

Answer

SSH

Question 15

A user's laptop has a USB-C port that supports Thunderbolt 3. They want to connect two 4K monitors daisy-chained. The monitors have DisplayPort inputs. Which cable configuration is required?

Accepted Answer

Use a USB-C to DisplayPort cable from the laptop to the first monitor, then a DisplayPort cable from the first monitor to the second.. Thunderbolt 3 over USB-C supports DisplayPort daisy-chaining (Multi-Stream Transport, MST). A USB-C to DisplayPort cable from the laptop to the first monitor carries the video signal, and a standard DisplayPort cable from the first monitor's DisplayPort out to the second monitor's DisplayPort in completes the chain. This configuration leverages the MST capability inherent in Thunderbolt 3 and DisplayPort 1.2 or later, allowing two 4K monitors to be driven from a single port.

Answer

Connect both monitors directly to the laptop using two separate USB-C to HDMI cables.

Answer

Use a USB-C hub with two HDMI ports.

Answer

Use a single USB-C to DisplayPort cable that splits into two DisplayPort connectors.